LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap, Copyright No....__.j 

Shelf„*_/£ J 3 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



NOTES 

ON THE 

USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK 



BY THE 

KT. REV. A C. A. HILL, D D. 

BISHOP OF VERMONT 



{ ^1? 19 1896) 



3 



NEW YORK 
E. & J. B. YOUNG & CO. 

COOPER UNION, FOURTH AVENUE 
1896 



The Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY 
E. & J. B. YOUNG & CO. 



4 



PREFACE. 



THE need of some such suggestions as 
those which this little book offers has 
been made apparent to the writer in going 
about his diocese. The book is compiled pri- 
marily for the use of his own Clergy and Can- 
didates for Holy Orders. But it is thought 
that it may be helpful in a wider circle. A 
large number of our Clergy have been brought 
up outside the Church, and consequently have 
not been moulded by her traditional usages. 
This results sometimes in laxity in the ob- 
servance of rubrics, and sometimes in an over- 
stiffness, and in a want of an elasticity in de- 
tail which would be natural to those who have 
a grasp of liturgical principles. 

The object in view has been to guide a clergy- 
man, according to the rubrics, to an intelligent 
and reverent use of the Prayer Book services. 
Doubtless, in some instances, a view different 
from that here taken will commend itself to 
the judgment of the reader. But care has 
been taken fairly to interpret the rubrics s 



4 



PREFACE. 



rather than under the form of explanation to 
revise them. 

If here and there suggestions seem to enter 
into needless detail, it may be pleaded that 
diversity of practice in different churches is 
embarrassing both to clergy and to lay people, 
and that in most cases there is a right way of 
doing a thing, and that right way the simplest. 

These Notes, it will be seen, are intended to 
accompany a Prayer- Book. Not all the rubri- 
cal directions are here printed, only those to 
which, for one reason or another, it seemed 
important to call special attention. 

In case these Notes should fall into the 
hands of English or Canadian brethren, it 
should perhaps be said that the text and 
rubrics commented on are those of the Stand- 
ard American Book of 1892, which differs in 
many points both from the existing English 
Prayer Book and from earlier editions of the 
American Book. 

Burlington, Vermont, 
November, 1895. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

General Directions, 7 

Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, . . 10 

The Litany, 20 

Penitential Office, . , 22 

Holy Communion, 23 

Baptism of Infants 39 

Private Baptism of Infants, 43 

Baptism of Adults, 45 

The Catechism, 48 

Confirmation, 50 

Solemnization of Matrimony, ..... 54 

Visitation of the Sick, 58 

Communion of the Sick, . . .. . . . . 58 

Burial of the Dead, 62 . 

Churching of Women, 64 

The Ordinal, 65 

Appendix I.— On the Manner of Reading 

Divine Service, 66 

Appendix II. — Table to Regulate the Ser- 
vice when Two Holy Days Fall upon 

the same Day, 74 



CONCERNING THE SERVICE OF THE 
CHURCH. 



ALTHOUGH the rubric in the English 
Book requiring of all clergy the daily 
recitation of Morning and Evening Prayer, 
either in public or in private, is not found in 
our Book, yet the design of the Church is 
clear that wherever it be possible the service 
should be said daily. It is " The Order for 
Daily [not Sunday or Occasional] Morning and 
Evening Prayer." Over and above the bless- 
ing which may certainly be expected from 
thus uniting in the continual offering of the 
Church's worship, the subjective advantage, 
both to minister and people, of the regular 
recitation of the Psalter, and of the orderly 
reading of Holy Scripture from the beginning 
to the end, with varying combinations of Old 
Testament and New Testament Lessons, is in- 
calculable.* 

It is only as an addition to the appointed 
Daily Services that the clergyman is free to 
use more elastic devotions in the Church. 

On any day when Morning and Evening 
Prayer shall have been said, or are to be said, in 



* For a discussion of the traditional obligation and the moral 
and spiritual value of the recitation of the Daily Service, see Dr. 
Liddon's Essay, The Priest in his Inner Life, in his volume of 
Sermons on Clerical Life and Work. 



8 NOTES ON THE USE OE THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Church, the Minister may, at any other Service 
for which no form is provided, use such devo- 
tions as he shall at his discretion select from 
this Book, subject to the direction of the Ordi- 
nary. 

For days of Fasting and Thanksgiving-, ap- 
pointed by the Civil or by the Ecclesiastical 
Authority, and for other special occasions for 
which no Service or Prayer hath been provided 
in this Book, the Bishop may set forth such 
Form or Forms as he shall think fit, in which 
case none other shall be used. 

The directions concerning The Psalter are 
dealt with on pp, 12, 13. 

And those concerning The Lessons on pp. 
13, 14. 



Hymns and Anthems. 

Hymns set forth and allowed by the authority 
of this Church, and Anthems in the words of 
Holy Scripture or of the Book of Common 
Prayer, may be sung before and after any Of- 
fice in this Book, and also before and after 
Sermons. 

See p. 20 and p. 28. 

By this direction " Opening and Closing," 
or, as they are sometimes called, " Processional 
and Recessional " Hymns are permitted. But 
a word of protest may be allowed against the 
common custom. A hymn before the begin- 
ning of Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer 
on ordinary Sundays is not only unnecessary, 
but it is contrary to the structure of the Ser- 
vice, which opens with a penitential introduc- 
tion, and then, before the words of praise, begs 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 9 



God to " Open our lips." This is rendered 
unmeaning if a jubilant hymn has been al- 
ready shouted. So at the end of the Service. 
The blessing is clearly intended to close the 
common devotions. The Priest is to let the 
people depart with the blessing. Immedi- 
ately afterwards to break forth afresh in metri- 
cal prayer or praise is at least unliturgical. 
Let a solemn procession be reserved for spe- 
cial occasions. It is quite unnecessary on 
ordinary occasions for the clergy and choir to 
sing their way to and from their stalls. There 
is no reason why American choristers should 
not walk to the chancel in a quiet and digni- 
fied manner as well as their English brethren. 



THE OEDEE FOE DAILY MOENING AND 
EVENING PEAYEE * 



ONE or more of the Sentences of Scripture 
must always be said. These Sentences 
serve, like the Antiphons in the older Offices, 
to give a key-note marking the special charac- 
ter of the Service according to the day or sea- 
son. 

The first four at Morning Prayer, and the 
first five at Evening Prayer, are suitable for 
any occasion ; then follow Sentences specially 
appropriate to the seasons of the Christian 
Year ; and lastly, the Penitential Verses, in- 
tended as a preface to the Confession. 

The Exhortation, according to the rubrics, 
need not ever be said except on a Sunday 
morning when a celebration of Holy Commu- 
nion is not immediately to follow Morning 
Prayer. 



* The practice, which in some places and on some occasions, pre- 
vails, of dividing up the Service among several clergymen is to be 
avoided as iin liturgical and unreasonable. The whole of Morning 
or Evening Prayer should be said by one officiant, with the exception 
of the Lessons, which may be assigned to another reader or readers. 
A Priest should, of course, say the Office, leading the devotions of 
the people, rather than a Deacon, if both are present. The Litany, 
as a separate service, may be said by another clergyman. The cus- 
tom of dividing the Service at the Creed is probably to be traced 
to the time of "the Reading Desk," with Prayer Book and Bible, 
which would accommodate but one clergyman at a time. In the 
Service for Holy Communion one Priest should officiate throughout 
as celebrant ; assistants, if there be any, reading the Epistle and 
Gospel, and one of them administering the cup. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 11 



The Confession is always to be said at Even- 
ing Prayer on Sundays, and daily at Morning 
Prayer except when the Holy Communion 
immediately follows. At other times its use 
is left to the discretion of the Minister. 

When the Exhortation is not said, the Con- 
fession is to be prefaced by the words (fol- 
lowing the Sentence), " Let us humbly confess 
our sins unto Almighty God." 

When the Confession is omitted at Morning 
Prayer, the Sentence is followed by " The 
Lord be with you," etc., and " Let us pray," 
and then " Our Father." This salutation is 
not ordered at Evening Prayer, and there is 
no objection to the Minister then repeating a 
precatory Sentence (such as " Let the words," 
etc.) kneeling, and then at once proceeding to 
the Lord's Prayer. At Morning Prayer on 
week-days it may be convenient to say, kneel- 
ing, a similar sentence, and then, " Let us 
humbly confess," etc. 

Elaborate music, such as that which is 
styled "The Ely Confession," is eminently un- 
suitable for the General Confession, which 
should be said by the whole congregation, not 
sung by the choir. 

Where the words are known, or books are 
* provided, there is no need to prolong the ser- 
vice by the Minister first saying each clause, 
and then the people repeating it after him.* 



* This point was seriously debated in the G-eneral Convention of 
1S35, and by Bishop Hopkins in an address to the Vermont Dioce- 
san Convention of 1837. Bishop Hopkins dissented, on the ground 
of legality, from the opinion of a committee of the House of Bish- 



12 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



The Psalter. — The simplest announcement 
of the Psalms (if any is needed) would seem 
to be, " The Psalter for the [10th] morning 
[or evening]," or, on a Holy-day for which 
Proper Psalms are appointed, or, again, when 
a Selection is to be used, c ' Psalms [8] and 
[50]." There need be no difficulty in finding 
special Psalms, now that ordinary numerals 
are used, any more than in finding a Hymn. 
But the mention of the Selection may be help- 
ful. 

The Proper Psalms are never to be super- 
seded by a Selection. 

The Selections of Psalms may be specially 
useful (1) when the Psalms for the day of the 
month are inappropriate to the particular occa- 
sion (e.g. jubilant Psalms in Holy Week, or 
penitential Psalms on a Saint's Day, or the 
Eve of a high festival), and (2) where it is 
thought desirable for a time to repeat often 
the same Psalms, so that people may become 
familiar with them. 

Attention will show that the Selections pro- 
vide appropriate Psalms for many occasions 
that have not Proper Psalms ; e.g. : 

Selection Ninth, for Christmas tide. 



ops, which was in favor of the practice of the people repeating the 
Confession zoith the Minister. The departure from, the literal direc- 
tion of the rubic " saying after /i?'m," which evidently had reference 
to a time when the greater part of the people could not read, may- 
be defended on the principle laid down by Hooker , that " the mu- 
tability of that end for which they are made doth also make laws 
changeable ; " " that which necessity of some special time doth 
cause to be enjoined bindeth no longer than during that time, but 
doth afterwards become free." Ecclesiastical Polity^ III. x. 1. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 13 



Selection Sixteenth, for Palm Sunday and 
for Eastertide. 

Selection First, Third, Eighteenth, for 
Saints' Days. 

Selection Fourth, for the Holy Eucharist. 

Selection Twelfth, for the Festival of a 
Church. 

Selection Fifth, Sixth, Seventeenth, for 
Penitential Seasons. 

Selection Second, for a Night Service. 

The Psalter, though it may be read respon- 
sively by Minister and congregation, is, like 
the rest of the Service, said to Almighty God. 
There is no propriety in the Minister turning 
towards the people here more than in other 
prayers and hymns. 

The best rule for reciting the Gloria Patri 
is that it should be said or sung full, by all 
together, though the Psalms may have been 
read, or sung, in alternate verses by the 
Minister and People, or by the two sides of 
the choir. 

The Gloria in excelsis is allowed to be sung 
at the end of the whole portion of the Psalter, 
but it is better to reserve this hymn for its 
distinctive place in the Eucharistic Office. 

The Lessons. — The direction of the English 
rubric may be quoted. The Lessons " shall be 
read distinctly with an audible voice, . . . 
he that readeth so standing and turning him- 
self, as he may best be heard of all such as are 
present." Intelligible, intelligent, and rever- 
ent reading of the Holy Scriptures is of the 
greatest importance, especially when it is con- 



14 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



sidered how little of the Bible as a whole most 
people know save what they hear in church.* 
Distinct provision is made for variations 
from the Lessons prescribed in the Calendar. 

If in any Church, upon a Sunday or Holy-day, 
both Morning and Evening Prayer be not said, 
the Minister may read the Lessons appointed 
either for Morning or for Evening Prayer. 

At Evening Prayer on Sunday, the Minister 
may read the Lesson from the G-ospels ap- 
pointed for that day of the month, in place of 
the Second Lesson for the Sunday. 

Upon any day for which no Proper Lessons 
are provided, the Lessons appointed in the 
Calendar for any day in the same week may be 
read in place of the Lessons for the day. 

On Days of Fasting and Thanksgiving, es- 
pecially appointed, and on occasions of Ecclesi- 
astical Conventions and of Charitable Collec- 
tions, the Minister may appoint such Lessons 
as he shall think fit in his discretion. 

Directions are given as to the manner of 
announcing the Lessons. No other formula 
should be used. 

Before every Lesson, the Minister shall say, 
Here beginneth such a Chapter [or Verse 
of such a Chapter] of such a Book ; and 
after every Lesion, Here endeth the First 
[or the Second] Lesson. 

N.B. — A Chapter cannot begin (as it is fre- 
quently declared to do) at the [12th] verse. 
The Canticles. — At Morning Prayer after 



* On the Reading the Lessons in Church as a method of Preach- 
ing God's Word, see Hooker, Ecclesiastical Polity, V. xxL, xxii, 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK, 15 



the First Lesson shall be said or sung either 
the Te Deum or the Benedicite ; and after the 
Second Lesson either the Benedictus or the 
Jubilate. 

At Evening Prayer after the First Lesson 
either the Magnificat, Gantate, or Bonum est ; 
and after the Second Lesson either the Nunc 
dimittis, Deus misereatur, or Benedic anima 
mea.* 

The ancient rule, which may well serve as a 
suggestion for us, was to omit the Te Deum 
in penitential seasons. The Benedicite, though 
itself jubilant, is far less so than the great 
triumphant hymn of the Christian Church. 

With regard to the other Canticles both 
Catholic custom and Christian instinct would 
prefer for regular use the Gospel Hymns 
{Benedictus, Magnificat, Nunc dimittis), to the 
Old Testament Psalms, which have already 
contributed their element to the Church's 
worship.-)- 



* With the Morning and Evening Canticles pointed for chanting 
printed at the end of all copies of the Hymnal, almost any congre- 
gation can, with or without a choir, sing the Canticles to simple 
music. A protest may be made against a practice which prevails 
in some places of chanting the Te Deum in utter disregard both of 
this pointing, and of the colons, and even the verses into which the 
Hymn is divided, to the utter confusion of the congregation, who 
cannot tell what verses will be grouped together, and (which is 
worse) of the sense. 

t Hooker's masterly reply to the uninstructed Puritan prejudice, 
which in his day attempted the exclusion of the Gospel Hymns 
from the English Prayer Book, may be quoted. The Puritans ob- 
jected also to the constant recitation of the Psalter ; after having 
given reasons for the conveniency and use of reading the Psalms 
oftener than the other Scriptures, Hooker continues : "Of reading 
or singing likewise Magnificat, Benedictus, and Nunc dimittis 
oftener than the rest of the Psalms, the causes are no whit less 
reasonable, so that if the one may very well monthly, the other 
may as well even daily be iterated. They are songs which concern 



16 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PKAYEE BOOK. 



While permission is given to use only the 
first four verses of the Benedictus, except on 
the Sundays in Advent, its unmutilated form 
is greatly to be preferred at all times. 

The Creeds. — The Apostles' Creed will 
naturally be the Creed ordinarily recited at 
Morning and Evening Prayer, the Nicene 
Creed being reserved for the Eucharistic office, 
or said at Morning Prayer when the Holy 
Communion is immediately to follow. 

The Versicles and Responses. — It is evi- 
dently intended (though the English rubric 
prescribes a standing posture) that Priest as 
well as people should kneel after the words, 
" Let us pray." 

The Collects. — The Collect of the Day will 
always be said except at Morning Prayer when 
the Holy Communion is immediately to follow. 
The Collect for the week should not ordinarily 
be added after the Collect for a Holy-day.* 

The Collect appointed for any Sunday or other 
Feast may be used at the Evening Service of 
the day before. 

A Fasting-day has no ceremonial Eve. 

All Memorial Collects are said following the 



us so much more than the songs of David as the Gospel toucheth us 
more than the Law, the New Testament than the Old. And if the 
Psalms for the excellency of their use deserve to b'e oftener repeated 
than they are, but that the multitude of them permitteth not any 
oftener repetition ; what disorder is it if these few Evangelical 
Hymns which are in no respect less worthy, and may by reason of 
their paucity be imprinted with much more ease in all men's 
memories, be for that cause every day rehearsed ? "—Ecclesiastical 
Polity, V. xl. 1. 
* See Appendix II. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 17 



Collect of the day. The expression " with " 
in the rubric concerning the Memorial of the 
Advent season is to be understood in the same 
sense as "after* " in the rubric concerning the 
Ash-Wednesday Collect. 

There can be no need to interrupt the 
prayers by announcing the Sunday or Holy- 
day for which the Collect is appointed. If 
the people are not sufficiently instructed in the 
Church Year, a notice board in the porch may 
give the Calendar for the week. 

The Collects "for Peace" and "for Grace" 
are always to be said at Morning Prayer ; and 
the Collects " for Peace " and " for Aid against 
Perils " at Evening Prayer. 

On Sunday mornings the Prayer for the 
President is to be said. After which may be 
said either the Litany, or the rest of Morning- 
Prayer, or the Holy Communion may imme- 
diately follow. 

On week-days Morning Prayer may end 
with the Collect "for Grace" and 2 Cor. 
xiii. 14 

At Evening Prayer an Anthem may be sung 
after the third Collect, "for Aid." 

The Minister may here end the Evening Prayer 
with such Prayer, or Prayers, taken out of 
this Book, as he shall think ft. 

The elasticity thus allowed at Evening- 
Prayer on any day is greatly to be valued, and 
should be judiciously used, so as to avoid 
sameness in the Morning and Evening Service. 
Often it may be desirable to end the Service 



18 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



with " The Grace," the versicles having pro- 
vided intercessions in an abbreviated form. 
But on many occasions it will be well to use 
fuller intercessions, sometimes in the form 
prescribed for Evening Prayer, sometimes by 
Prayers and Thanksgivings for special occa- 
sions or needs. Prayers from the Order for 
the Visitation of the Sick, from the end of the 
Burial Service, from the Institution Office, and 
from other parts of the Prayer Book may be 
used at different times with advantage. 

With regard to special intercessions and 
thanksgivings, it seems far better, when the 
" Prayer for all Conditions of Men," or the 
General Thanksgiving, is used, not to add 
special collects for individual cases which are 
covered by the general prayer ; but to say in 
the general prayer, " especially those for whom 
our prayers are desired " (or the correspond- 
ing form in the General Thanksgiving). 

To add a special collect seems to imply that 
the general prayer is of no particular force, 
while the other plan teaches people to say the 
general prayer with special intention and 
reference. 

The same suggestion applies to the Litany, 
where it covers the case of persons travelling 
by land or by water, as well as of those in 
sickness or* in sorrow. No particularizing 
clause is to be added here ; but a momentary 
pause may well be made at any petition, as 
also in the Prayer for Christ's Church Militant 
in the Holy Communion. 

In all cases the announcement may well be 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 19 



made, <c The prayers [or thanksgivings] of the 
congregation are asked for A. i?." The men- 
tion of the name is generally desirable, as 
marking the family relationship of members of 
the Christian Church one with another, and 
to prevent distracting guesses as to who the 
unnamed person may be. 

The General Thanksgiving is intended, like 
the other prayers, to be said aloud by the 
Minister alone, the people, as elsewhere, re- 
sponding in the Amen. The term C£ General," 
neither here nor in the General Confession, 
refers to the mode of recitation, but distin- 
guishes the prayer from Particular Thanks- 
givings, or Confessions. 



THE LITANY, OR GENERAL SUPPLI- 
CATION. 



THE Litany is to be used ordinarily after 
Morning Prayer on Sundays, Wednes- 
days, and Fridays. 

In the arrangement of Morning Service, 
while Morning Prayer, the Litany, and the 
Order for Holy Communion are distinct Ser- 
vices, and may be used either separately or 
together, no one of them is to be habitually 
disused. 

The Litany may be used after the third Col- 
lect at Evening Prayer. 

When the Litany is used as a separate 
Service, it should either be said entire, or at 
least down to the end of the "Our Father " ; 
otherwise the Lord's Prayer would not be used 
at all in the service, which would be contrary 
to the Church's constant custom. The rubric 
which permits the Minister " at his discretion " 
to " omit all that followeth," would seem to al- 
low the use of the Kyrie and " Our Father." 

Permission is given for a Hymn to be sung 
before any Office in the Prayer Book ; there- 
fore, if it be desired, before the Litany. The 
common use of the hymn, " Saviour, when in 
dust to Thee/' is apparently based upon a 
misunderstanding of the title "Litany Hymn/' 
which is intended to describe the nature of 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 21 



the composition as in itself a metrical Litany, 
not its use as a prefix to the Prayer Book Lit- 
any. The words are hardly appropriate to an 
ordinary Lord's Day morning, and can scarce- 
ly be regarded as an accurate description of 
an ordinary Sunday morning congregation. 

Both at the beginning of the Litany, and 
before the Lord's Prayer, the responses should 
be repeated by the congregation, as they are 
printed, after the sentence has been first said 
by the Minister. 



A PENITENTIAL OFFICE FOE ASH- 
WEDNESDAY. 



On the First Day of Lent, at Morning Prayer, 
the Office ensuing shall be read imme- 
diately after the Prayer, We humbly be- 
seech thee, O Father, in the Litany, and in 
place of what there followeth. 

The same Office may be read *at other times, 
at the discretion of the Minister. 

The Minister and the People kneeling, then 
shall be said by them this Psalm follow- 
ing. Ps. 51. 




1HIS office will naturally be said at a fald- 
stool, if such is used for the Litany. 



To mark this special use of the Miserere, it 
may be well (following old custom in the re- 
citation of the Penitential Psalms) to repeat 
it either all together, or alternately by half 
verses. This method is observed in the an- 
tiphonal chanting of the ordinary Psalter in 
some English Cathedrals, thus preserving the 
Hebrew parallelism. 



THE OKDER FOR THE ADMINISTRA- 
TION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER, OR 
HOLY COMMUNION. 



THE fair linen cloth is to be upon the Holy 
Table, not necessarily covering it in 
front. 

Nothing should at any time be placed upon 
the Holy Table but what is actually used in 
the celebration of the Holy Communion. Any 
ornaments or decorations should be upon a 
shelf behind. To make the Holy Table a side- 
board for a lavish display either of silver, or 
brass, or flowers, is an offence at once against 
reverence and good taste. 

The proper position of the Priest has been 
a subject of much dispute, chiefly owing to 
the confusion of terms resulting from changes, 
in the position of the Holy Table. "The 
right side " apparently refers to what is now the 
front, without designating any particular part 
of the front.* It would seem most natural 
that the Priest should say the whole service 



* The very learned judgment of the Archbishop of Canterbury 
in the Lincoln case (1800) shewed conclusively that the term 
" north side " in the English rubric had reference to the " Table- 
wise " position of the Altar in the body of the church or choir ; 
and that in its present position against the east wall of the church 
no place at it can be declared illegal, 
v Our "right side" introduces some further ambiguities. 



24 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PEAYEE BOOK. 



in the midst of the Altar, unless there be good 
reason for changing the position for any spe- 
cial portion of it. The Epistle according to 
custom is read at the south side, and the 
Gospel at the north (south and north are 
used in the ritual sense, the Altar being sup- 
posed to be at the east end of the church). 
Ancient usage prescribes reading the Collect 
at the Epistle side. 

Concerning the posture of the Priest, the fol- 
lowing Declaration of the House of Bishops 
(1832) may be quoted : " "With regard to the 
officiating priest, the Bishops are of opinion 
that as the Holy Communion is of a spirit- 
ually sacrificial character, the standing post- 
ure should be observed by him wherever that 
of kneeling is not expressly prescribed, to wit ; 
in all parts, including the ante-Communion and 
the post-Communion, except the Confession 
and the Prayer immediately preceding the 
Prayer of Consecration." 

It would seem to be intended that the 
Lord's Prayer at the beginning of the Service 
should be said by the people joining with the 
Priest. A similar rubric, directing the officiant 
to say it, without mention of the people, is 
found in the Offices for Confirmation, Mar- 
riage, and Burial. But in none of these 
cases is the <£ Amen " printed in italics, mark- 
ing the people's response, and it* cannot be 
supposed that in the recitation of the Lord's 
Prayer alone the people are to take no part. 
The rubric before the u Our Father," where 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PEAYER BOOK. 25 



it first occurs, at the beginning of Morning 
Prayer, is to be understood as governing its 
use wherever else it is ordered to be said in 
the Prayer Book. The common custom (al- 
most universal in England) of the Priest alone 
saying it here may be due to the fact that 
these two prayers are incorporated in the 
public Service from the old Office for the 
Priest's Preparation for Celebrating. 

The Decalogue is to be recited at least 
once on every Sunday. At other times the 
Summary of the Law may be used. 

From its printing, the Kyrie ("Lord, have 
mercy upon us, Christ, have mercy upon us, 
Lord, have mercy upon us") is not intended 
to be repeated after the Priest, nor each sen- 
tence more than once. 

This shorter Kyrie is always to be said 
when the Decalogue and its longer response 
have been omitted. 

The Kyrie should, of course, be said by the 
Priest facing the Altar. The words, "Let us 
pray," are not here, or in many other places, 
an invitation to pray, so much as an introduc- 
tion to a collect in which petitions which have 
been offered in the form of versicles and re- 
sponses are gathered up. 

The use of the collect, " O Almighty Lord 
and Everlasting God," is optional. It is al- 
lowable to pass straight on to the Collect of 
the Day. 

The Day should not be announced here, 
nor in giving out the Epistle. See p. 17. 



26 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



The form for announcing the Epistle is de- 
finitely prescribed, and should not be altered. 
" The Epistle [or — in case the Epistle should 
be taken from the Acts, Bevelation, or Proph- 
ets — " the portion of Scripture appointed for 

the Epistle "] is written in the Chapter 

of , beginning at the verse." And the 

Epistle ended, should be said, with no variation 
in case the technical " Epistle " has been taken 
from some other part of Holy Scripture, 
"Here endeth the Epistle." 

Sitting is the natural posture in which to 
listen to the Epistle. 

It is better not to repeat the expression, 
"the Holy Gospel," which is intended to de- 
signate that portion of Scripture to which the 
Church pays special reverence. In token of 
such reverence, the people are to stand up 
when it is announced, to listen to the recital 
of our Lord's words, or to the record of some 
mystery in His incarnate life ; they are to 
welcome its announcement by the doxology, 
" Glory be to Thee, O Lord." The simplest 
announcement seems to be, " The Holy Gospel 
is written in the Chapter of (Saint Mat- 
thew), beginning at the verse." " Of that 

according to Saint Matthew," is an extremely 
awkward and ill-sounding phrase. No one 
would think of saying, with reference to the 
Epistle, "of that fco the (Ephesians)." 

Assisting ministers, if there be any, should 
turn to the reader of the Gospel (not toward 
the Altar), both at the Doxology and during 
the reading of the Gospel. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 27 



The Nicene Creed should normally be re- 
cited here. Its omission is permitted when, 
Morning Prayer and the Celebration forming 
one continuous service, one of the Creeds has 
been already said. The Nicene Creed is of 
obligation on Christmas-day, Easter-day, As- 
cension-day, Whitsunday, and Trinity-Sunday. 

The curious custom of assisting ministers 
standing in a line behind the celebrant dur- 
ing the Creed has neither authority nor reason. 

Then the Minister shall declare unto the Peo- 
ple what Holy -days, or Fasting-days, are in 
the week following to be observed ; and (if oc- 
casion be) shall Notice be given of the Com- 
munion, and of the Banns of Matrimony, and 
other matters to be published. 

Is not the prevalent neglect of Fasting- 
days (see the table on page xxiv of the Prayer 
Book) in large measure due to the disregard 
of the express direction of this rubric? It 
would seem unnecessary that the unvarying 
recurrence of the Friday fast (the shadow of 
Good Friday in each week) should be con- 
stantly announced, any more than the weekly 
festival of the Lord's Day (the lesser Easter 
Day) ; but with regard to these days the peo- 
ple should be from time to time reminded of 
their obligation, and instructed as to their ob- 
servance. 

It is desirable that the whole of the Exhorta- 
tion giving warning of the Holy Communion 
should be read from time to time, as before 



28 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PEAYEK BOOK. 



the three great festivals of Christmas, Easter, 
and Whitsunday. When only a portion is 
read, it would seem better to read the two 
opening clauses (down to "our spiritual food 
and sustenance in that holy Sacrament ") rather 
than simply the first. 

The "other matters to be published" were 
not intended to cover the numerous semi-secu- 
lar notices which belong to modern parochial 
machinery. The announcement of many of 
these had better be confined to a notice-board 
in the porch, to which attention can be called 
if necessary. 

A hymn is allowed " before and after Ser- 
mons.'' But the insertion of a hymn here is 
generally needless. . The American tradition 
is probably due to the old custom of the 
clergyman retiring before the Sermon to put 
on a preaching gown. The Sermon follows 
much more naturally upon the Creed or Gos- 
pel, upon which its teaching will commonly 
be based. 

In a large church the notices may con- 
veniently be given from the pulpit. 

The direction, " Then shall folloiu the Ser- 
mon" is shown not to be obligatory on every 
occasion by the rubric at the end of the 
Service, " Upon the Sundays and other Holy- 
days (though there be no Sermon), etc." 

The permission to use the Offertory Sen- 
tences on any occasion of public worship, 
when the alms of the people are to be col- 
lected, does not constitute an obligation to do 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYEK BOOK. 29 



so. " Remember the words/' and "Let your 
light," are frequently regarded as formulas 
equivalent to "There will now be a collec- 
tion." The Sentences would probably gain in 
force if they were not so commonly used ; 
and if on occasions of special collections a 
greater variety were used than is frequently 
the case. 

The direction that the Priest shall " humbly 
present and place" the Alms basin "upon the 
Holy Table," certainly does not require, and 
hardly seems to allow, the elevation of the 
basin above the head. 

Neither the Bread nor the Wine are to be 
placed upon the Holy Table before this point. 
Their presentation, following — not preceding 
— that of the Alms, is a formal act represent- 
ing the dedication of the fruits of the earth to 
Almighty God, the offering of the people's sub- 
stance in kind as well as in money. Anciently 
all offerings were made in kind, and from 
these were selected for sacramental purposes 
the Bread and Wine.* 



* On the importance and symbolism of this feature in the 
Eucharistic offering, see Bishop John Wordsworth's interesting 
and instructive Visitation Addresses on The Holy Communion, pp. 
176, 27-32, 84-88. 

Keaffirming a resolution of the House of Bishops in the General 
Convention of 1886, the Bishops assembled in the Lambeth Con- 
ference of 1888 declared that ^ the use of unfermented juice of the 
grape, or any liquid other than true wine, diluted or undiluted, as 
the element in the administration of the cup in Holy Communion, 
is unwarranted by the example of our Lord, and is an unauthor- 
ized departure from the custom of the Catholic Church." 

The use of the mixed chalice, that is, of wine with which a 
small quantity of water has been mingled, is the almost universal 
custom of the Catholic Church from the earliest times. It was the 



30 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



The people should stand for the Oblation 
of the Elements, as well as of the Alms (if not 
during the whole collection), whether a Hymn 
or Anthem is sung or not. 

If an Anthem be sung at this point, it should 
cover the offering of the Elements, as well as 
the less important presentation of the Alms. 

The congregation will kneel at the bidding, 
"Let us pray for the whole state," etc. 

There is neither direction nor provision for 
persons to leave the church after the Prayer 
for the Church Militant, or at anytime during 
the Service for Holy Communion, w T hich should 
be one and unbroken. Even if to avoid con- 
fusion it seem necessary to make a pause, in 
no case should an Organ Voluntary, much less 
a procession of choristers, seem to sanction such 
an exodus. 

It is the privilege of all baptized persons, 
not under ecclesiastical censure, to be present at 
the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, although 
from the nature of the Sacrament (which is 
a Sacrificial Feast, corresponding with the 
Jewish Peace-Offering), and from the structure 
and wording of the Office, it is plain that, un- 
less they actually receive the Communion, 
they have but an imperfect share in the plead- 



traditional use of Bishop Seabury and his clergy, inherited, with the 
distinctive features of our Communion Office, from the Scottish rite. 

The quantity of water added must in no case be such as to de- 
stroy the reality of the wine, which is the essential element. The 
water should not be more than one-third of the whole. The weight 
of authority would seem to.be in favour of the mixture being made 
before the Service, though this is distinctly less convenient. i 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PKAYER BOOK. 31 



ing of Christ's Sacrifice, which is the great 
object of the Service. 

The longer Exhortation "may be omitted if 
it hath been already said on one Lord's Day in 
that month." 

The people should stand at the reading of 
this Exhortation, and respond with Amen at 
its end. 

The shorter Exhortation ( " Ye who do 
truly ") is alwa} r s to be said. 

Then shall this General Confession be made, 
by the Priest and all those who are minded 
to receive the Holy Communion, humbly 
kneeling. 

Our rubric (differing from the English) is 
express that the Priest is to kneel and say this 
Confession, " and all those who are minded to 
receive." 

The capital letters mark the short clauses 
into which the Prayer is broken for common 
recitation. They should be said with distinct 
pauses, that all may join. 

"Humbly (or devoutly) kneeling" plainly 
means no less than the English direction, 
" meekly kneeling upon your knees." 

In the rubric before the Absolution "the 
Bishop " refers to the Bishop (or Coadjutor) of 
the Diocese. It is only by special invitation 
that a visiting Bishop would pronounce the 
Absolution or Blessing. 



32 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



The Comfortable Words will of course be 
said by the Priest still facing the people. He 
will turn to the Lord's Table at " It is very 
meet," etc. 

The rubric distinctly marks that the people 
(and choir) are to join with the Priest after the 
Preface, "Therefore with Angels," etc., at the 
Ter Scmctus, "Holy, Holy, Holy." 

There is no authority for adding to the Ter 
Sanctus the Benedictus qui venit, or Hosanna, 
nor for inserting these sentences between the 
Prayer of Humble Access and the Prayer of 
Consecration. Either of these, or the Agnus 
Dei, might be reckoned as " a Hymn," for 
which provision is made after the Prayer of 
Consecration. 

When the Priest, standing before the Table, 
hath so ordered the Bread and Wine, that 
he may with the more readiness and decency 
break the Bread before the People, and take 
the Gup into his hands, he shall say the 
Prayer of Consecration. 

The Bread and Wine to be consecrated are 
supposed to have been already presented.- 
Any covering is to be here removed.* 

" The Cup " is spoken of as the normal use. 
More than one Cup should not be used unless 
absolutely necessary, nor a Flagon. 

If Wafer bread is used, which m many ways 



* When there is danger of insects, it is well to keep the chalice 
and paten covered, except for the recital of the Institution and 
the Invocation. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PKAYEE BOOK. 33 



is more convenient, it is better that it should 
be in sheets, marked in squares, so that these 
can be broken ofT in the distribution. The 
idea of " the Breaking of the Bread " is not 
satisfied by a single fraction at the Consecra- 
tion. The action is intended to symbolize not 
merely the breaking of the literal Body of 
Christ in the Passion, but the unity of His 
mystical Body, into which we are gathered by 
virtue of our feeding on His sacramental Body. 
" We being many are one bread, one body : 
for we are all partakers of that one bread " 
(1 Cor. x. 17). In this symbolism the sepa- 
rated round wafers entirely fail.* 

For the like cause the use of more than one 
chalice, unless needed, should be avoided. 

The directions for the manual acts at the 
recital of the Institution should be carefully 
observed. 

After the Prayer of Consecration may be 
sung a Hymn. See p. 32. 

This will naturally be sung kneeling, as the 
Ter Sanctus. 

" A Hymn " is not to be understood to mean 
what is commonly called " The Communion 
Hymn/' " Bread of the World," for which 
there is no special authority, and of which the 
language is hopelessly confused. 

The celebrating Priest must always himself 
receive the Holy Sacrament, even though ne- 



* The rubric in the first English Prayer Book (15-19) directed 
that every wafer should " be divided in two pieces, at the least, 
or more, at the discretion of the Minister, and so distributed." 



34 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



cessity may compel him to celebrate more than 
once on the same day. 

No direction is given as to the posture of 
the celebrant for his own Communion. The 
older custom was for him to stand, but the 
weight of Anglican tradition seems to be in 
favour of kneeling.* As to the words, it is 
sufficient for him to say the first half of each 
sentence in the first person (" The Body of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for me, 
preserve my body and soul unto everlasting- 
life "). 

In the Distribution of the Sacrament it is 
easiest to begin at the south (or Epistle) end 
of the Altar rail, the right arm being thus more 
free. 

The Sacrament, both the consecrated Bread 
and the Cup, is to be delivered " into the 
hands " of the communicants. Of course 
gloves should be removed. It may be well for 
the Minister to guide or steady the Cup, when 
it is full, or when persons are nervous or in- 
firm. 

When there are many communicants custom 
sanctions the abbreviation of the words of dis- 
tribution. But the object of Sacraments being 
to bring home to the individual the benefits 
of Christ's Death and Passion, it would seem 
right that at least one-half of the whole sen- 
tence should be said to each communicant ; 
and better, that the first clause should be said 



* See Bishop Andrewes's Visitation Articles, 1625, in his Minor 
Works, p. 131 (Anglo -Catholic Library). 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYEE BOOK. 35 



to each, the second clause being added at the 
beginning and end of each row of communi- 
cants, or oftener. 

If the consecrated BreoA or Wine be spent be- 
fore all have communicated, the Priest is to 
consecrate more , according to the Form before 
prescribed; beginning at, All glory be to 
thee, Almighty God, and ending with these 
'words, partakers of his most blessed Body 
and Blood. 

A second Consecration is to be avoided if 
possible. Both elements must be consecrated 
if either one is needed. Therefore, where 
there is any possibility of a second Consecra- 
tion of Wine being necessary, a small quan- 
tity of unconsecrated Bread should be in re- 
serve. 

When all have communicated, the Minister 
shall return to the Lord's Table and reve- 
rently place upon it what remaineth of the con- 
secrated elements, covering the scone with a 
fair linen cloth. 

Then shall the Minister say the Lord's Prayer, 
the people repeating after him every Petition. 

Cuatom at least sanctions the interpreta- 
tion "after" as equivalent to " with." 

The Gloria in excelsis, or an alternative Hymn, 
is to be " said or sung, all standing." 

An alternative Hymn may be substituted 
for the Gloria in excelsis, as less jubilant, in 
penitential seasons or services. Such a Hymn 



36 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



should, both in tone and expression, be dis- 
tinctly appropriate to a place in the Liturgy. 
" Praise to the Holiest in the height " (453), 
and " O Saving Victim " (227), may be men- 
tioned as specimens of such as would seem to 
be " Proper Hymns." * 

Then the Priest (the Bishop if he be present) 
shall let them depart with this Blessing, " The 
Peace of God," etc. 

The whole of this Blessing should be pro- 
nounced facing the people. 

For the rubric concerning " the Bishop " see 
p. 31. 

It is best to reserve, at any rate on ordinary 
occasions, this fuller Benediction for the Eu- 
charistic Office. 

And if any of the consecrated Bread and Wine 
remain after the Communion, it shall not 
be carried out of the church ; but the Minis- 
ter and other Communicants shall, immedi- 
ately after the Blessing, reverently eat and 
drink the same. 

There should be responsible persons in- 
structed to come forward in case of need. e 

" Reverently eat and drink " would seem to 
imply kneeling. 

To fulfil the intention of the rubric it is 



* The expression, " Proper Hymn from the Selection,'' apparently, 
in its original meaning, referred to the " Hymns " marked " Prop- 
er for Holy Communion " in the " Table to find Hymns suited to 
particular Subjects and Occasions," appended to the Metrical 
Psalms and Hymns in old editions of the Prayer Book. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 37 



convenient that any crumbs which may still 
remain upon the Paten should be poured into 
the Chalice, and then the Chalice rinsed with 
a little wine and water. 

Upon the Sundays and other Holy-days (though 
there be no Sermon or Communion), shall be 
said all that is appointed at the Communion, 
unto the end of the Gospel, concluding with 
the Blessing. 

This requirement of the Altar Service, in 
however maimed a form, is to be regarded 
as a witness to the use of the entire Service 
on every Sunday and Holy-day as the Church's 
true law of worship. 

The absence from our Book of any particular 
requirement as to the number of Communi- 
cants to receive with the Priest, makes the 
weekly Celebration possible in almost every 
place. 

The opening portion of the Service, being 
an integral part of the whole rite, is not to be 
said by a Lay Reader, nor a Deacon. 

Ancient usage, both Eastern and Western, 
is against the Consecration of the Holy Mys- 
teries on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. 
But at the same time it was customary for de- 
vout persons to communicate on these days 
from the Reserved Sacrament. No rule con- 
cerning the matter is laid down in our Prayer 
Book, beyond the provision of a proper Col- 
lect, Epistle, and Gospel, which must be used, 
and this rubric, which permits the [earlier 



38 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



part of the Service to be said without pro- 
ceeding to an actual Celebration. 

Anglican custom, as illustrated by Bishop 
Andrewes's Sermons, is in favour of the Good 
Friday Celebration. But certainly, in most 
of our parishes, it would seem more helpful 
to concentrate the idea of the Eucharistic Ob- 
lation and Feast on Easter-day. It is the 
Kisen Lord who applies to us the virtue of 
His triumphant Passion. 



THE MINISTEATION OF PUBLIC 
BAPTISM OF INFANTS, TO BE USED 
IN THE CHURCH. 

mHIS Office is to be used "in the church/' 
JL and, save in very exceptional cases, not 
elsewhere. In country districts, where there 
is no church within reasonable distance, a 
congregation may be gathered in a private 
house, and the full Service performed. But 
where, rather than that a child should not be 
baptized, the clergyman consents to administer 
the Sacrament in private, only the abbreviated 
form next provided should be used. See p. 43. 

The People are to be admonished, that it is 
most convenient that Baptism should not be 
administered but upon Sundays and other 
Holy-days, or Prayer-days. Nevertheless (if 
necessity so require) Baptism may be ad- 
ministered upon any other day. 

The administration of Baptism before the 
full congregation should have a distinctly edi- 
fying effect upon the people present ; it bears 
wdtness to the Church's teaching concerning 
the Sacrament ; and it secures for those bap- 
tized the prayers of the faithful. In city 
churches there might well be stated times, as 
on one Sunday in the month, for the adminis- 
tration of Baptism, in the Morning or Even- 



40 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



ing Service ; other occasions, of course, being 
used as need may require. 

If children are brought while really " in- 
fants," there is not much danger of the con- 
gregation being disturbed. 

The Minister of every Parish shall often ad- 
monish the People, that they, defer not the 
Baptism of their Children longer than the 
first or second Sunday next after their birth, 
or other Holy -day falling between, unless upon 
a great and reasonable cause. 

The administration of Baptism is ordinarily 
to be immediately after the Second Lesson, 
either at Morning or at Evening Prayer. 
When the Minister comes to the Font, it is 
then to be filled with pure water. 

Flowers or other decorations should never 
be placed in the Font, which is a vessel for 
sacred use. Nor should they be so arranged 
around it as to interfere with its proper pur- 
pose. 

The clergyman should, before beginning the 
service, be clear in his mind as to the sex of 
the child ; he should also know the name to be 
given, although this is formally 4 pronounced at 
a later stage. 

It is inconsistent with the dignity of the 
Baptismal Name to give a pet abbreviation, 
such as may be used in the family circle. 

There shall be for every Male-child to be 
.^baptized, when they can be had, two God- 
fathers and one Godmother ; and for every 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 41 



Female, one Godfather and two Godmothers ; 
and Parents shall be admitted as Sponsors, if 
it be desired. 

The requirement of Sponsors is not to be 
disregarded. It is the means whereby the 
Church provides, so far as may be, that the 
gift of grace conferred in the Sacrament be 
guarded and developed, and the obligations 
incurred therein be understood. It would be 
at once irreverent to Almighty God and un- 
charitable to the child to administer the 
Sacrament without taking care to provide for 
this so far as possible. 

Sponsors should be Communicants of the 
Church. They represent the Church in her 
maternal office toward the child, and on be- 
half of the child they promise obedience to the 
faith of Christ as the Church holds it. 

The general congregation and the company 
at the Font are to stand until the Lord's 
Prayer after the actual Baptism. 

Concerning the permitted shortening of the 
service the rubric is express. After one or other 
of the Prayers the Minister shall either read the 
Gospel and that which followeth, or else shall 
pass immediately to the Questions addressed to 
the Sponsors. But Note, That in every church 
the intermediate parts of the Service shall be 
used, once at least in every month (if there be a 
baptism), for the better instructing of the People 
in the grounds of Infant Baptism. 

The Thanksgiving following the Exhortation 
is to be said by all, the people joining with the 
Minister. 



42 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



For the actual Baptism the Minister is 
directed to take the child " into his hands." 
This, of course, applies to an infant. 

Baptism is to be by immersion, dipping in 
the water, or by affusion, pouring water on 
the child. No sanction is given to aspersion, 
or simple sprinkling of water ; still less to 
placing a moistened hand upon the child's 
liead ; in either of which cases the symbolism 
of washing is entirely lost, and the validity of 
the Sacrament may be endangered. 

Trine affusion, at the mention of each Person 
of the Blessed Trinity (by which also the three 
days' burial of our Lord is symbolized), is 
preferable to a single pouring of water. 

The Minister alone says the " Amen " at the 
end of the baptismal formula, and also at the 
end of the following sentence. 

It is convenient that a towel or napkin be 
provided at the Font, with which the Minister 
may wipe both the face of the baptized and 
his own hands. 

There is no need for the Sign of the Cross 
to be made with a wet hand. This is prefer- 
ably performed with the thumb of the right 
hand, the first stroke being down the fore- 
head, the second from left to right. 

For the Lord's Prayer and the Collect fol- 
lowing all kneel, Minister and people ; rising 
again for the concluding Exhortation. 



THE MINISTRATION OF PRIVATE 
BAPTISM OF CHILDREN, IN HOUSES. 



This is only to be allowed in cases of neces- 
sity. 

The Minister shall warn them, that without 
great cause and necessity, they procure not 
their Children to be baptized at home in their 
houses. But when need shall compel them so 
to do, then Baptism shall be administered as 
followeth. 

First, let the Minister of the Parish (or, in his 
absence, any other lawful Minister that can 
be procured) with those who are present, call 
upon God, and say the Lord's Prayer, and so 
many of the Collects appointed to be said be- 
fore in the Form of Public Baptism, as the 
time and present exigence will suffer. And 
then, the Child being named by some one who 
is present, the Minister shall pour Water 
upon it, saying these words : 

NI baptize thee In the Name of the Fa- 
, ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. Amen. 

The term " lawful Minister " in this rubric 
seems from the Declaration prefixed to the 
Ordinal to be limited to a Bishop, Priest, or 
Deacon. No provision is made for Lay Bap- 



44 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PEAYER BOOK. 



tism. In the subsequent rubrics, concerning 
the reception of a child who has been privately 
baptized, it will be noted that a 4 'lawful Min- 
ister " is always presupposed. The validity 
of Lay Baptism is a distinct question. The 
general consent of Western Christendom, 
with legal decisions in English Ecclesiastical 
Courts, is in its favour. 

It is desirable to take to the house either a 
small portable Font, or at least a shell, for the 
administration of the Sacrament ; and after 
the Service reverently to pour away the water 
which has been used. 

The Reception of a Child Privately Baptized. 

The changes of wording rendered neces- 
sary by the fact of the Baptism having been 
already performed must be carefully noted, 
and the omission of the Question, " Wilt thou 
be baptized in this faith ? " 



THE MINISTKATION OF BAPTISM TO 
SUCH AS AEE OF KIPEE YEARS, 
AND ABLE TO ANSWER FOR THEM- 
SELVES. 

When any such Persons as are of riper years « 
are to be baptized, timely notice shall be given 
to the Minister ; that so due care may be taken 
for their examination, whether they be suf- 
ficiently instructed in the Principles of the 
Christian Pieligion; and that they may be 
exhorted to prepare themselves, with Prayers 
and Fasting , for the receiving of this holy Sa- 
crament. 

And if they shall be found fit, then the God- 
fathers and Godmothers (the People being 
assembled upon the Sunday, Holy-day, or 
Prayer-day appointed) shall be ready to pre- 
sent them at the Font, immediately after the 
second Lesson, either at Morning or Evening 
Prayer, as the Minister, in his discretion, 
shall think fit. 

THE admission of persons to Holy Baptism, 
and thereby to all the privileges of the 
mystical Body of Christ, is the greatest occa- 
sion for the exercise of the power of remitting 
and retaining sins committed'to the Church. 
It is for this reason that, unless in case of 



46 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



emergency, a Deacon is not to baptize adults. 
See the Form for the Ordering of Deacons. 

All care must be taken to secure their fit- 
ting spiritual preparation, as well as their 
ability to make intelligent profession of the 
Christian faith. 

The Baptism is to be during the public ser- 
vice, before the congregation. 

The candidate for Baptism will most prop- 
erly kneel for the Prayers, which are said 
over him, standing for the Exhortation and 
Questions. 

For other directions, see the Baptism of In- 
fants. 

No provision is made for abbreviating this 
Service, unless in consideration of extreme 
sickness it be performed in a private house, 
when 

A convenient number of persons shall be as- 
sembled in the house where the Sacrament is to 
be administered, and in case of great necessity, 
the Minister may begin with the questions ad- 
dressed to the candidate, and end with the 
thanksgiving following the baptism. 

The conjoining of the Office of Infant Bap- 
tism and that of Adults involves so much dif- 
ficulty and repetition that it is better never 
to attempt it. 

If there be reasonable doubt concerning the 
baptism of any person, such person may be 
baptized in the manner herein appointed ; 
saving that, at the immersion or the pouring 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 47 



of water the Minister shall use this form of 
ivords : 

If thou art not already baptized, N., I bap- 
tize thee In the Name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 

It is expedient that every Person, thus bap- 
tized, should be confirmed by the Bishop), so 
soon after his Baptism as conveniently may 
be ; that so he may be admitted to the Holy 
Communion. 



A CATECHISM; THAT IS TO SAY, AN 
INSTRUCTION, TO BE LEARNED BY 
EVERY PERSON BEFORE HE BE 
BROUGHT TO BE CONFIRMED BY 
THE BISHOP. 

The Minister of every Parish shall diligently, 
upon Sundays and Holy-days, or on some 
other convenient occasions, openly in the 
Church, instruct or examine so many Children 
of his Parish, sent unto him, as he shall think 
convenient, in some part of this Catechism. 

And all Fathers, Mothers, Masters, and Mis- 
tresses, shalt cause their Children, Servants, 
and Apprentices, who have not learned their 
Catechism, to come to the Church at the time 
appointed, and obediently to hear and to be 
ordered by the Minister, until such time as 
they have learned all that is here appointed for 
them to learn. 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL at the end of Morning 
Service, when the general congregation 
has left, when perhaps the clergyman has to 
hurry off for another Service, and the teachers 
are necessarily tired, is no proper substitute 
for this public catechising by the responsible 
pastor as an integral and important part of a 
Service. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 49 



Catechising might well be substituted once 
a month for a sermon with profit and pleas- 
ure. If carefully prepared it would prove at- 
tractive and popular, both with children and 
older people, who are commonly glad to re- 
ceive, as they often sorely need, intelligent 
and systematic instruction in the principles 
of Christian faith and life. 



THE ORDER OF CONFIRMATION, OR 
LAYING ON OF HANDS UPON 
THOSE WHO ARE BAPTIZED, AND 
COME TO YEARS OF DISCRETION. 

So soon as Children are come to a competent 
age, andean say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, 
and the Ten Commandments, and can an- 
swer to the other questions of this short Cate- 
chism, they shall be brought to the Bishop. 

And whensoever the Bishop shall give know- 
ledge for Children to be brought unto him for 
their Confirmation, the Minister of every 
Parish shall either bring or send in wri- 
ting, with his hand subscribed thereunto, the 
Names of all such Persons within his Pa- 
rish, as he shall think fit to be presented to the 
Bishop to be confirmed. 

NO particular age is specified as a require- 
ment for Confirmation. Those of " com- 
petent age " are still spoken of as " children " ; 
and all that is required of them in the way of 
instruction is what is contained in the Cate- 
chism. This they are to know by heart, as 
well as to be instructed intelligently in its 
meaning. 

The clergyman is bidden before the Con- 
firmation to give to the Bishop a list of the 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 51 



candidates he thinks fit and prepared, with his 
hand subscribed thereunto. This is entirely 
inconsistent with the uncertainty which is 
sometimes expressed at the time of the Service 
as to the number of candidates there may be. 
If a person has not definitely determined be- 
forehand that he desires to be confirmed, he 
can hardly be in a fit state to receive the rite. 

There is no direction that the administra- 
tion of Confirmation should follow any other 
Service. The Office is complete in itself, and 
may often conveniently be used as a separate 
Service, with accompanying hymns and an 
address. 

According to the rubric, the Bishop is to 
be sitting in his chair near to the Holy Table, 
and the candidates are to stand in order before 
him, at the Altar rail, first men and boys, 
then women and girls. 

The congregation are to stand until after 
the Laying on of hands. The candidates will 
most properly kneel after they have made the 
Promise ; when the Bishop will rise to say 
over them the Prayer for the seven gifts of 
the Spirit, with its introductory versicles. 

The Preface, before the Presentation of the 
candidates by the parish priest, is optional; 
as is the Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles 
which follows the Presentation. The Preface 
is often inappropriate, since many of those to 
be confirmed were not baptized as children ; 
and in all cases it lays undue stress on the 
subjective side of Confirmation, or the renewal 
of baptismal vows as a preparation for re- 



52 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



ceiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. The 
Lesson, with its Scriptural authority for the 
rite, is generally edifying. 

The Bishop is to lay his hands upon the 
head of every one severally, as he says the 
sentence, " Defend, O Lord, this thy child." 

The "Amen " at the end of the sentence is 
said by the Bishop alone. 

After the Laying on of hands the Bishop 
pronounces "The Lord be with you," and 
all kneel, the Bishop most naturally in front 
of the Altar, and all repeat the Lord's Prayer. 
After the Collects the Bishop rises to bless 
those who have been confirmed. 

The Minister shall not omit earnestly to move 
the persons confirmed to come, without delay, 
to the Lord's Sapper. 

And there shall none be admitted to the Holy 
Communion, until such time as he be con- 
firmed, or be ready and desirous to be con- 
firmed. 

To explain this rule as if it meant that the 
names of none were to be placed on the Com- 
municants' Koll until after Confirmation, is to 
trifle with language. 

To apply the rule only to those who have 
been baptized and trained in the Church, as 
if others, whose Baptism, if valid, is irregular, 
and whose teaching has been defective, were 
to be granted admission to the full privileges 
and the holiest mysteries of the Church with 
less preparation than those who have been 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 53 



trained in her ways, is so unreasonable a posi- 
tion that it would seem as if it could only have 
been suggested as a way of justifying a lax 
practice. 

Plainly the rubric is intended to ensure that 
the " Sacramental Complement" of Baptism 
(as Hooker styles Confirmation) * should have 
been received, save in extraordinary cases, be- 
fore the Baptized are allowed to receive Holy 
Communion. Confirmation is the completion 
of Baptism, the gate to Holy Communion. 
This of course implies that mere " readiness 
and desire " to be confirmed is not a reason 
for admission to Holy Communion, but only 
that there mus*t be these conditions in the ex- 
traordinary cases — such as serious illness, or a 
long delay before Confirmation may be pos- 
sible — where a person may before the Laying 
on of hands be allowed to receive the Sacra- 
ment of our Lord's Body and Blood. 



* See the whole of Hooker's treatment of Confirmation. Ecclesi- 
astical Polity, V. lxvi. 



THE FOEM OF SOLEMNIZATION OF 
MATKIMONY. 



The laws respecting Matrimony, ivhether by 
publishing the Banns in Churches, or by Li- 
cence, being different in the several States, 
every Minister is left to the direction of those 
laws, in every thing that regards the civil con- 

4 tract between the parties. 

THE Civil Licence, which in many States 
must be procured before the clergyman 
may perform the marriage ceremony, merely 
testifies that the union would be legal accord- 
ing to the enactments of the State. Before 
consenting to give the Church's blessing and 
sanction to the union, the clergyman is bound 
to inquire as to its conformity with the law of 
Almighty God, and the provisions of the 
Church. Inquiry should be made whether 
any relationship exists between the parties 
which would be an impediment to Christian 
marriage, and as to any previous marriage into 
which either party may have entered. Care 
should be taken that persons understand the 
nature of Christian marriage as a life-long 
union between husband and wife, to the ex- 
clusion of all other on either side ; and the 
hopeless incompatibility of the Church's Mar- 
riage Service with prevalent customs of divorce. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 55 



The question of the Christian status of the 
parties should also be considered. The Prayer 
Book Service is intended for the Church's 
children. A person who has not, by baptism, 
been received into the Christian society, with 
its privileges and obligations, has no claim 
to the service which solemnizes a Christian 
marriage. Nor is it clear that such an one can 
be held to the strict law of Christian marriage. 

A clergyman is under no obligation to sol- 
emnize the marriage of any persons who may 
apply to him, without previous knowledge on 
his part of the circumstances. Persons often 
come from a distance in order to avoid pub- 
licity, or even the knowledge of responsible 
friends.* Special caution should be taken in 
places which are near the border-line of differ- 
ent States, where an attempt may be made to 
evade civil restrictions. 

All care must be taken to impress upon 



* The Minister of the Gospel, we maintain, ought to be a custodian 
of public morals, and an upholder of parental authority, and a pro- 
tector of child-life in its innocence and purity. He ought to be a 
sentry to challenge every stranger who approaches and seeks ad- 
mission to the intimacies of home, the best and holiest hospitalities 
which our poor earth has to offer. Every Minister of Christ ought 
to be, in the absence of natural parents, and of accredited guardians, 
the protector of the woman. He ought to regard himself as holding a 
higher trust than that of an agent of the civil authority to celebrate 
the marriage for any parties whom it may permit him to marry and 
to pocket the fee and be rid of the whole affair. He ought to con- 
sider himself as a trustee for society to guard its interests ; a 
trustee for parents and relatives and friends, as brought into rela- 
tion with their treasure to watch over it for them, and save it per- 
chance from fearful risk, if not ruin, and as a trustee for the 
would-be bride, whose happiness and salvation perchance are for a 
few minutes placed in his keeping. — (From a Pastoral Letter of the 
Right Reverend Dr. Seymour, Bishop of Springfield, on Marriage 
and Divorce. Young Churchman Company, 1893.) 



56 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



every one that is present the dignity of the 
rite, "The Solemnization of Matrimony." 

The Church is, of course, the suitable place 
for seeking the Divine Blessing on a marriage. 
The rubric permits the Service to be used in 
"some proper house." 

The congregation should stand throughout 
the Service, the Prayers being said over the 
bride and bridegroom. 

In our Service there is no opportunity, as in 
the English Service, for moving from one part 
of the Church to another during the perform- 
ance of the rite. The entire Service should be 
said either at the entrance to the Chancel or 
at the Altar rail.* 

For the espousal the directions of the rubric 
are explicit. Each takes the other by the 
right hand at the words " I take thee/' They 
loose their hands after the Man has plighted 
his troth, and then join hands again, the only 
difference being that the Woman now, as she 
gives her troth, takes the initiative. 

The rubric concerning the giving of the 
ring, from a want of care in printing the para- 
graphs, is commonly misunderstood, and has 
given rise to a curious superstition. It should 
be read in two distinct paragraphs. 

1. " Then shall they again loose their 
hands, and the Man shall give unto the 
Woman a ring." This is a general heading, 



* The rubric expressly says " the body of the Church," i.e., the 
entrance to the Chancel •; but in many places this would be ex- 
tremely inconvenient. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 57 



declaring the further rite now to be performed, 
that of joining hands being finished. 

2. The next paragraph goes on to describe 
how the Man shall give the ring. The Minis- 
ter takes the ring from the Man — as he for- 
merly at the same time took "the accustomed 
duty " — and (having blessed it) returns it to 
the Man to put it on the Woman's finger. 

A comparison of our rubric with that in the 
English Book, of which it is an abbreviation, 
makes certain this interpretation of the rubric, 
and shows that there is no intention of pro- 
viding for a ceremonial circle. 

For the Prayers the bride and bridegroom 
should kneel, the Prayers being said over them. 
There is no need for them to rise until after 
the Benediction. 

The Service, the purpose of which is to con- 
fer a religious blessing on the marriage, should 
be performed only by a Priest.* 



* No inference to the contrary can be drawn from the use of 
the general term " Minister " in the rubrics. In the Occa- 
sional Offices, more particularly, the term " Minister " is frequently 
used as a substitute for the "Curate " of the English rubric, that is, 
the clergyman in pastoral charge of the parish or congregation, 
who, according to our Canons, as well as by English rule, must be 
in Priest's Orders. See Canon S, Title I. This will be abundantly 
clear from " The Communion of the Sick," in the rubrics of which 
Office the term " Minister " is used throughout. In speaking of the 
ministration of a Priest at a marriage, it must not be understood 
that the validity of a marriage depends upon its due solemnization. 



THE ORDER FOR THE VISITATION OF 
THE SICK. 




|HE rubrics seem sufficiently clear, and to 
need no explanatory comment. 



The Service is evidently intended to be used 
as a solemn and official ministration, apart 
from more frequent and less formal pastoral 
calls, when these are possible, during a time of 
sickness. Compare the fifth rubric at the end 
of The Communion of the Sick. 

THE COMMUNION OF THE SICK. 

Forasmuch as all mortal men are subject to 
many sudden perils, diseases, and sicknesses, 
and ever uncertain what time they shall de- 
part out of this life ; therefore, to the intent 
they may be always in readiness to die, whenso- 
ever it shall please Almighty God to call 
them, the Ministers shall diligently, from time 
to time (bid especially in the time of pestilence 
or other infectious sickness), exhort their pa- 
rishioners to the often receiving of the Holy 
Communion of the Body and Blood of our 
Saviour Christ, when it shall be publicly ad- 
ministered in the Church ; that so doing, they 
may, in case of sudden visitation, have the 
less cause to be disquieted for lack of the same. 
But if the sick person be not able to come to 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 59 



the Church, and yet is desirous to receive the 
Communion in his house, then he must give 
timely notice to the Minister, signifying also 
how many there are to communicate with him 
{which shall be two at the least) ; and all 
things necessary being prepared, the Minister 
shall there celebrate the Holy Communion, be- 
ginning with the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, 
here following. 

But if a man, either by reason of extremity of 
sickness, or for want of warning in due time to 
the Minister, or for lack of company to receive 
with him, or by any other just impediment, do 
not receive the Sacrament of Christ's Body 
and Blood, the Minister shall instruct him, 
that if he do truly repent him of his sins, and 
steadfastly believe that Jesus Christ hath suf- 
fered death upon the Cross for him, and shed 
his Blood for his redemption, earnestly re- 
membering the benefits he hath thereby, and 
giving him hearty thanks therefor, he doth eat 
and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour 
Christ profitably to his soul's health, although 
he do not receive the Sacrament with his 
mouth. 

In the times of contagious sickness or disease, 
when none of the Parish or neighbours can 
be gotten to communicate with the sick in their 
houses, for fear of the infection, upon special 
request of the diseased, the Minister alone may 
communicate with him. 

It will be noted that this is the only mode 
prescribed for administering the Sacrament to 



60 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYEfl BOOK. 



the sick, and that in these rubrics the Church 
assumes the responsibility of allowing various^ 
hindrances to stand in the way of an actual 
Sacramental Communion. 

Nevertheless Bishop White may be cited as 
favouring a liberal interpretation of the require- 
ment as to the presence of other communi- 
cants. "The provision for there being two at 
least is indeed mandatory, and therefore ought 
to be attended to. But it is not said that in 
case of a failure to obtain them, the Sacrament 
is to be refused." "In such an extremity it 
would seem, that of two duties, the more im- 
portant is not dispensed with by the impossi- 
bility of complying with the other." — Duties of 
the Publick Ministry (1848), p. 245. 

" All things necessary being prepared. " Ad- 
ditional words of the English rubric may be 
quoted : "Having a convenient place in the sick 
man's house, with all things necessary so pre- 
pared that he may reverently minister." 

Beverence would seem to dictate that the 
Priest should be vested, and that the Sacred 
Vessels from the Church, or others reserved 
for the purpose, should be used. 

In the times of contagious sickness or disease, 
or when extreme weakness renders it expe- 
dient, the following form shall suffice: The 
Confession and the Absolution ; Lift up your 
hearts, etc., through the Sanctus ; The Prayer 
of Consecration, ending with these words, par- 
takers of his most blessed Body and Blood ; 
The Communion ; The Lord's Prayer ; The 
Blessing. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 61 



At the time of the distribution of the holy Sa- 
crament, the Minister shall first receive the 
Communion himself and after minister unto 
those who are appointed to communicate with 
the sick, and last of all to the sick person. 

This last direction is intended primarily to 
guard against infection. 



THE ORDER FOR THE BURIAL OF 
THE DEAD. 



Here is to be noted, that the Office ensuing is 
not to be used for any unbaptized adults, any 
who die excommunicate, or who have laid vio- 
lent hands upon themselves. 

"Excommunicate" This does not include 
persons who are suspended from the Holy 
Communion, but refers to a more formal exer- 
cise of discipline, which is reserved to the 
Bishop alone. 

" Who have laid violent hands upon them- 
selves." This, of course, does not apply to a 
person of really unsound mind, who is inca- 
pable of such a deliberate act. 

If in any case a clergyman thinks it well to 
comply with a request to attend the funeral of 
a person coming under one or other of these 
classes, it is most desirable that he should 
not appear vested, and that Prayers and 
Scriptures which are used should be quite dis- 
tinct from this prescribed Order for the Burial 
of the Dead. Nor should such service be 
held in the Church. 

The rubric, differing herein from that in the 
Marriage Service, makes no provision for the 
use of this Service in a house. The only places 
mentioned are the Church and the Cemetery. 



NOTES ON THE USE OE THE PRAYER BOOK. 63 



Tlx e Minister, meeting the Corjj.se at the en- 
trance of the Churchyard, and going before 
it, either into the Church or towards the 
Grave, shall say or sing. 

The coffin should be placed at the head of 
the nave, with the feet toward the Altar. If 
it be a Priest's burial, the coffin is placed in 
the midst of the choir. 

The devotions which are allowed following 
the Lesson are evidently intended for cases 
when the remaining portion of the Service is 
to be said at some distance from the Church. 

On ordinary occasions three Collects would 
seem to be sufficient. A long string of prayers, 
several of them covering the same ground, 
does not contribute to devotion. 

Among such " fitting Prayers " the following 
may be mentioned, beside the three " Addi- 
tional Prayers " at the end of the Service : The 
Collects for Easter Eve, for the Fourth, Twenty- 
first, and Twenty-fourth Sundays after Trinity ; 
for Persons in affliction, from the Occasional 
Prayers; "O Saviour of the world," and "O 
God, whose days are without end," from the 
Visitation of the Sick. 

The Prayers are naturally said over the cof- 
fin, the Minister standing and facing west. 

At the Committal it is best for him to stand 
at the foot of the grave. 

The casting of earth upon the body, which 
is a distinctly religious act, is most suitably 
performed by one of the chief mourners. 



THE THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AF- 
TER CHILD - BIRTH ; COMMONLY 
CALLED THE CHURCHING OF WOM- 
EN. 

nHHE more common use of this Office would 
I be valuable, as witnessing to the dignity 
of Motherhood. 

The Office will naturally immediately pre- 
cede one of the public Services of the Church, 
and most fitly the Holy Communion. 

The most fitting place for the Woman to 
kneel would seem to be the Litany desk ; or 
she may kneel at the chancel rail. 



THE FOEM AND MANNEE OF MAKING, 
OBDAINING, AND CONSECBATING 
BISHOPS, PEIESTS, AND DEACONS. 

IF Morning Prayer is said at an earlier hour, 
the Sermon may be prefaced by a form 
corresponding with the English " Bidding 
Prayer," or by a Collect. 

The Bishop will naturally say the Litany 
kneeling in front of the Altar. He will return 
to his seat for the Questions, and, in the Or- 
dination of Priests, for the Exhortation which 
precedes the Questions ; after which he rises. 

At the Ordination of Priests the Veni Crea- 
tor is sung over the Candidates, the Bishop 
and his attendants facing west. 



APPENDIX I 



ON THE MANNEE OF READING 
DIVINE SERVICE. 

BEFORE calling attention to some mis- 
takes into which clergymen not uncom- 
monly slip, a few hints may be given about 
the manner of saying the Service. 

Bishop Bull in his Charge concerning " The 
principal parts and duties of the Pastoral 
Office, with rules and directions for the due 
performance of each of them," * begins First, 
with " Reading divine service or the prayers 
of the church. 

" This some may think to be a slight and easy 
matter, that needs not any advice or direc- 
tions ; but they are very much mistaken. For 
to the reading of the prayers aright there is 
need of great care and caution. The prayers 
of the church must be read audibly, distinctly, 
and reverently. 

" 1. Audibly, so that if possible all that are 
present may hear them and join in them. 
There are some that mutter the prayers, as if 
they were to pray only to themselves, whereby 



* Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of St. David's. 
II. in Bishop Bull's Work's, vol. ii. 



Discourse 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 67 



they exclude most of the congregation from the 
benefit of them. 

" 2. The prayers of the church ought to be 
read distinctly and leisurely ; not to be gal- 
lopped over, as the manner of some is, who 
read the prayers so fast that they outrun the 
attention and devotion of the people, not giv- 
ing them time to join with them, or to make 
their responses in their due places. . . . 

" 3. And lastly, the prayers of the church 
are to be read with great reverence and devo- 
tion, so as to excite and kindle devotion in the 
congregation. Thus the prayers of the church 
are to be read, if we would keep up the repu- 
tation of them, and render them useful to the 
people." 

True reverence will forbid anything ap 
proaching to theatrical display. The prayers 
it must always be remembered, are said to Al- 
mighty God. The Minister is to be recog- 
nized as speaking to God, and that, as the re- 
presentative of the congregation, and the 
leader of their devotions. Anything therefore 
that obtrudes the clergyman's personality 
on the attention of the people should be care- 
fully avoided. By this it is not meant that 
the reading is to be expressionless and unin- 
telligent. We are to offer to God our best, 
of language and of utterance. In rendering, 
as in words, the best will generally be the 
simplest. 



68 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



SOME ERRORS INTO WHICH CLERGYMEN ARE LIABLE 
* TO FALL IN READING THE SERVICE. 

1. In saying the General Confession the 
capital letters guide the Minister where to 
make pauses in order that the people may 
join with him conveniently in reciting it. 
Two of these clauses, however, are so long- 
that a slight additional pause is necessary. 
In the clause, "According to thy promises 
declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our 
Lord," this pause should be after promises, 
not after mankind; and in the clause, "That 
we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and 
sober life," it should follow hereafter, and not 
godly. 

2. In saying the Lord's Prayer, an equal 
pause should be made before each capital. 
One often hears, "Our Father who art in 
heaven hallowed be thy Name — Thy kingdom 
come thy will be done — On earth as it is in 
heaven." Careful attention to these appointed 
pauses is necessary, if those parts of the Ser- 
vice which minister and people say in common 
are to be rendered audibly and distinctly. 

3. In the petition, "And forgive us our 
trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass 
against us," one often hears the emphasis 
placed upon the word against ; whereas there 
should be a slight emphasis upon the word us. 
The emphatic words in any sentence are those 
which are in contrast to some other word ex- 
pressed or understood. Emphasis on the 
word against implies a contrast between per- 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYEK BOOK. 69 



sons who trespass against us and others who 
trespass for us, whereas the real contrast is 
between our trespasses against God and other 
men's trespasses against us. 

4. A strange practice exists of pronouncing 
the word cherubim, in the Te Deum, Chair-you- 
bim. The vowel u ordinarily, indeed, has the 
sound yu as in tune, institute ; but after r it 
uniformly has the sound oo, as in fool. Cheru- 
bim is the plural of cherub and is pronounced 
cher'-u-bim. 

5. At the end of the Lessons care should be 
taken to say what is prescribed, "Here end- 
eth," etc., rather than "Here rencleth." 

6. To secure distinctness, special care is 
needed to pronounce consonants fully. When 
a consonant is doubled, either in the middle 
of a word, as in immortal, or in the case of a 
word beginning with the same consonant with 
which the previous word ends, both the con- 
sonants should be pronounced — e.g., in the 
Creed, " Was crucified, dead," and " The third 
day." 

A neglect of this principle leads many to 
say, " O God, make lean our hearts within us,' 5 
instead of "make clean," and " eterna-life " 
for "eternal life," in the Collect for Peace, and 
"morta-life" for "mortal life," in the Advent 
Collect. 

7. In the Creed care should be taken to pro- 
nounce both syllables of the word believe, say- 
ing be-lieve, not blieve. 

8. In the Nicene Creed a very slight, al- 
most imperceptible, pause should be made be- 



70 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



fore of in "God of God, Light of Light, Very 
God of very God ; " the expressions of God, 
of Light, of very God, signifying that the 
eternal Son derives his being from the Father. 
The English "of" is the translation of the 
Greek i«. A like pause should be made after 
the word Lord in the clause, " The Lord, and 
Giver of Life." 

9. In the Prayer for the President, in Morn- 
ing Prayer, the clause "Most heartily we be- 
seech thee, with thy favour to behold and bless 
thy servant The President of the United 
States, and all others in authority," is often 
wrongly read. Some drop their voice and make 
a pause at servant, as if "thy servant" and 
"the President" were two distinct persons. 
Others, to avoid this blunder, make a pause 
after bless, whereas it is never correct thus to 
sever the verb from its direct object. The 
pause should be made after the word favour, 
so as to make it possible to utter without 
break the words, "to behold and bless thy 
servant the President of the United States." 

10. The neglect of distinctness in the pro- 
nunciation of consonants leads many to make 
a strange alteration in the Prayer for the 
Clergy and People. Instead of asking God to 
send down upon Bishops, Clergy, and People 
alike " the healthful Spirit of thy grace," they 
say, " Send down upon our Bishops another 
Clergy, and upon the Congregations committed 
to their charge the healthful Spirit of thy 
grace." To avoid this slip, which leads the 
attentive listener to wonder why they never 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 71 



pray instead, " Send down upon our clergy 
another Bishop," it is well to drop the voice at 
the word Bishops, and make a distinct pause, 
and also at the word Clergy. 

11. In the General Thanksgiving care should 
be taken to make a definite pause between 
" Almighty God " and " Father of all mercies," 
so as to escape saying Almighty Godfather. 

The clause, " for thine inestimable love in 
the redemption of the world by our Lord 
Jesus Christ," is too long to utter in one 
breath. The slight pause necessary should be 
made after the word love, not after world. 

"For the means of grace," and "for the 
hope of glory," are co-ordinate with "for 
thine inestimable love," not dependent upon 
" redemption," and should be so read as to 
make this plain. After the long clause at 
the end the voice should be dropped and a 
pause made at days, so as to secure the re- 
cital of the conclusion without an undue 
pause after Lord. 

12. In the Litany a slight pause should be 
made after the word Father in the Invocation, 
" O God the Father of heaven." The Latin 
is de ccelis, not coelorum. The English Prayer 
Book has a comma here. 

In the clause, " and finally to beat down 
Satan under our feet," care should be taken 
not to make a pause after the word finally. 
This adverb qualifies the infinitive "to beat 
down," and is equivalent in meaning to utterly. 

In the clause, "That it may please thee to 
defend, and provide for, the fatherless chil- 



72 NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PKAYEE BOOK. 



dren, and widows/' the voice needs to be 
dropped at the word children and a pause 
made, in order to avoid seeming to pray for 
fatherless widows. 

13. The Holy Communion. In the last 
sentence of the Longer Exhortation care is 
needed in reading the clause, " submitting our- 
selves wholly to his holy will and pleasure," 
first, to avoid the vulgar pronunciation " hully " 
for wholly, the o being long as in holy ; and 
secondly, to utter distinctly both l's, which 
alone serves to distinguish it in sound from 
holy. 

14. In the Preface, " It is very meet, right, 
and our bounden duty," there should be a 
definite pause after meet as well as after right. 
Many run meet and right together and read 
as if there were a compound word, " meet- 
right/' 

15. In several different places of the Com- 
munion Service the same phrase recurs, and 
there is clanger that through a momentary 
lapse of attention one familiar with the Office 
may slip into the words that follow such a 
phrase in another part of the Service. It is 
important to note these dangerous points 
carefully. 

The words Divine Majesty occur in the 
Prayer for the Church Militant and also in the 
Confession. 

The words, And we most humbly' beseech thee, 
are found three times : in the Prayer for the 
Church Militant, followed by " of thy goodness, 
O Lord ;" in the Invocation, followed by "O 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PRAYER BOOK. 73 



merciful Father ; " and in the Thanksgiving 
after Communion, followed by " heavenly 
Father." 

The words humbly beseeching thee occur 
twice in the Prayer of Consecration after the 
Invocation — "most humbly beseeching thee 
to grant," and "humbly beseeching thee that 
we and all others." 

In remembrance of me is found twice ; once 
in reciting the words of Institution over the 
Bread, and once in reciting them over the Wine. 
There exists, then, the risk that the Priest may 
pass from the first in remembrance of me to the 
Oblation, "Wherefore, O Lord and heavenly 
Father," and omit an essential part of the 
consecration of the Wine altogether. 



APPENDIX II. 



THE following Table, to regulate the ser- 
vice when two Feasts or Holy-days fall 
upon the same day, is based upon a table 
drawn up by a Committee of .the Convocation 
of Canterbury. In the absence of any authori- 
tative rule of our own, these suggestions may 
well be followed. 

They are at once simpler and better adapted 
to the provisions of our Prayer Book, which 
gives no sanction to the translation of Festi- 
vals, than rules which were framed for the 
more complex arrangements of the older 
Service Books. 



When two Feasts or Holy-days happen to fall upon the same day, 
then shall be said the whole Service proper to the day placed in the 
left-hand column of the following table : 



1 Sunday in Advent. 


S. Andrew. 


4 Sunday in Advent. 


S. Thomas. 


S. Stephen, S. John, Innocents' Day, 
Circamcision. 


1 Sunday after Christ- 
mas. 


Epiphany. 


2 Sunday after Christ- 
mas. 


Conversion of S. Paul. 


3 Sunday after the 
Epiphany. 


Purification. 


4 Sunday after the 
Epiphany. 

Septuagesima, Sexagesi- 
ma, and Quinquagesi- 
ma Sundays. 


Septuagesima and Sexagesima Sundays. 


Conversion of S. Paul. 


Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinqua- 
gesima Sundays. Ash- Wednesday, 
Sundays in Lent. 


S. Matthias. 


Annunciation. 


3, 4, 5 Sundays in Lent. 



NOTES ON THE USE OF THE PBxWEK BOOK. 75 



Sunday next before Easter, Monday be- 
fore Easter to Easter Even, inclusive. 


Annunciation. 


Easter Day, Monday and Tuesday in 
Easter Week. 


Annunciation. 
S. Mark. 


1 Sunday after Easter. 


S. Mark. 

S. Philip and S. James. 


S. Mark. 

S. Philip and S. James. 


2, 3, 4, 5 Sundays after 
Easter. 


Ascension Day. 


S. Philip and S. James. 


Whitsunday. Whitsun Monday and Tues- 
day. 
Trinity Sunday. 


S. Barnabas. 


S. Barnabas and all other Holy-days till 
All Saints' Day, inclusive. 


Sundays after Trinity. 



Wheresoever in the Service the Collect of 
the day is appointed to be said, then shall the 
Collect of the day placed in the right-hand 
column immediately follow, save that no com- 
memoration should be made of the 1 Sunday 
after Christmas on the Feast of the Circum- 
cision, nor of the 2 Sunday after Christmas on 
the Feast of the Epiphany. 



INDEX. 



[Matters which come naturally under the head of the different 
Services are not ordinarily mentioned in the Index. They can be 
referred to through the Table of Contents, e.g., Sponsors under 
Baptism of Infants.] 

Altar ornaments and decorations, 23. 
Andrewes, Bp., on G-ood Friday Communion, 38. 

on the Priest kneeling for Communion, 34, N. 
Bull, Bp., on reading the divine service, 66, 67. 
Canterbury, Abp. of, Judgment concerning the "North Side" of 

the Altar, 23, N. 
Deacons should not baptize adults, 46. 

nor perform the Marriage Service, 57. 
Dividing the Service, 10, N. 
Font decoration, 40. 
Hooker, Richard, on Confirmation, 53. 

on the Gospel Canticles, 15, N. 
on the mutability of laws, 12, N. 
on Beading the Lessons as a mode of Preaching, 
14, N. 

Hopkins, Bp., on the rubric concerning the General Confession, 
11, N. 

Lambeth Conference, Resolution on the necessity of true wine for 

Holy Communion, 29, N. 
Lay Baptism, 43, 44. 

Liddon, Dr. H. P., on the Daily Service, 7, N. 
Minister, use of the term, 57, N. 
Mixed Chalice, 29, N. 
Processional Hymns, 8, 9. 
Seymour, Bp., on Marriage, 55, N. 
Vestments in private ministrations, 60, 62. 
■Wafer bread, 32, 33. 

White, Bp., on the Communion of the Sick, 60. 
Wine for Holy Communion must be real wine. 29, N. 
Wordsworth, Bp. John, on the Oblation of the Elements, 29, N. 



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